SYDNEY, Feb 7: Australian captain Ricky Ponting hopes to nurse his injured back through the triangular one-day series against India and Sri Lanka while the Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said his team waited desperately to play against the world champions here on Friday.

Ponting hurt his back in the fourth Test against India in Adelaide and then missed the Twenty20 International against the Indians.

He returned for the series opening clash with India in Brisbane last Sunday, making a duck before rain washed out the match.

Ponting said it was a recurrence of an ongoing problem and although he declared himself certain to play in Friday’s day-night clash with Sri Lanka at the SCG, he admitted the injury was a concern.

“My back has been better, I must admit,” he said, adding he had been in the nets “to get a bit more confidence in my movements and try to iron out a bit of the stiffness in there that I have got.

“It’s just something that I have to get on top of. It has happened probably three times in the last couple of seasons, I have basically been immobile.

“I’ve got a bit of strength work I could probably do and little things I could look at doing differently over the next few months. We’ve been pretty cautious with it over the past few days. I’ll be right to get through the rest of this series,” he said, hoping the injury would not need surgery.

Australia will have veteran Matthew Hayden back for Friday’s match, and his return will boost not only their batting, but also their struggling slips cordon.

“The sooner we can get Matty back into the side and give us a bit more structure back around our slips cordon the better, and he’ll come back in tomorrow,” Ponting expressed.

Seamer Stuart Clark is also available after missing the Brisbane game for personal reasons.

One real problem for Sri Lanka and Australia could be out of their hands – bad weather looks likely to again affect Friday’s game.

The first two matches of the series were both washed out and Sydney has been lashed by wild weather in recent days. The forecast was for more rain on Friday, particularly in the evening.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said his team were hoping the rain will clear for long enough to allow Friday’s World Cup final rematch against Australia to go ahead.

The Australians, led by a brilliant 149 by Adam Gilchrist, thrashed the Sri Lankans in the World Cup final last April, and Friday’s game at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will be their first one-day clash since that match.

But the forecast of more wet weather hangs over the day-night match.

The Sri Lankans have won four of their last five One-day Internationals here and Jayawardene said they were desperate for the match to go ahead.

“All the guys have been waiting for this opportunity,” he said. “It’s always a challenge for us to play Australia and to challenge ourselves as well to see where we are.

“We always enjoy coming to Australia and playing cricket. Within yourself you just find that extra bit of effort to try to beat these guys.”

Jayawardene added that it had been a frustrating start to the series, and admitted the forecast of further rain was less than ideal for his side.

The SCG traditionally favours spinners, but a wet surface is more likely to douse the skills of veteran off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

“It (rain) has always been hurtful for us if you have spinners, slow bowlers,” Jaywardene said. “You can’t control the weather. We just need to see if we can get a game in.

“Most of all we just need to kick-start this tournament.”

Jayawardene further said Lasith Malinga would be a handful for the Australians, and also praised the form of youngster Ishara Amerasinghe.

Teams (probable):

AUSTRALIA: Adam Gilchrist (wicket-keeper), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussey, James Hopes, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken.

SRI LANKA: Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper), Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Ishara Amerasinghe, Muttiah Muralitharan.—Agencies